The Origin of the Bible

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 352 pages
• Published by: Tyndale House Publishers December 3, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0842383670
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0842383677
• Book Dimensions: 8.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 10.4 ounces

Product Description
Many books have been written about the Bible, but few explain its origins. This volume provides a fascinating overview of how the Bible was first inspired, canonized, read as sacred literature, copied in ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, and eventually translated into the languages of the world. No other one-volume work can match this wealth of information about the historical development of the Bible.

About The Author
Philip W. Comfort, Ph.D., has studied English Literature, Greek, and New Testament at the Ohio State University and the University of South Africa. He has taught these classes at a number of colleges, including Wheaton College, Trinity Episcopal Seminary, Columbia International University, and Coastal Carolina University. He has contributed a number of books to the Tyndale collection, both as author and editor: The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament, The Origin of the Bible, The Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Essential Guide to Bible Versions, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts (with D. Barrett), Who's Who in Christian History.

Philip lives in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, with his wife Georgia. His three children and grandchildren live nearby.

Reader Reviews
Recent works of fiction have regenerated interest in the Bible's origin. Many new best-sellers and best-seller hopefuls have been rushed to market in an attempt to capitalize on the interest to prove or disprove the "facts" behind the fictional "Da Vinci Code." Although I must be one of the last people not to read the Code (I read one of Brown's other books and it was so bad I didn't feel the need to torture myself with another) I wanted to start my own journey of understanding of Biblical origins. I turned to a couple of seminary students I know for book recommendations but unfortunately they had none so I struck out on my own. My main criteria was to read something that was written by a Christian Biblical expert or experts, that it was written prior to Brown's novel so it isn't a reactionary book, and that it cover a range of issues regarding Biblical origins and the authority or lack thereof of individual books that are or aren't included in the modern standard Bible. This book fit all of these criteria. It is a collected work (some of the chapters appear to be articles from scholarly publications). The positives I gained from it are a good foundation to allow me to understand other books on the topic. I think having read this I can now arm myself with the questions to read and analyze books more specific to apocryphal works and the accuracy of our current translations relative to original writings. The problems I faced in reading this are that parts of it were redundant from article to article and author to author. Parts of it were also well over my head as a lay person, introducing scholarly terms that were never explained or defined. In general, I was able to follow most of it by context. The writing is also extremely dry, and I believe it was never intended for a general audience. This paperback edition was probably released (following the original hardcover 10+ years ago) in reaction to seeing the new found interest for other books. Fortunately, it's also easy to skip around in, and doesn't require a complete front-to-back read. I'd recommend it for you if you have a real interest in starting a solid understanding of Biblical origins and translations and you are looking to avoid the books being turned out by the current hype machine. But, it isn't an easy read, so prepare yourself for some work.